Combined mouth-gag and tongue-depressor



E. L. ROBERTS. COMBINED MOUTH GAG AND TONGUE DEPRESSOR.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. I5| I916.

Patented bot. 28, 1919.

EDWIN LEE ROBERTSQOF NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE.

COMBINED MOUTH-GAG AND TONGUE-DEPRESSOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 28, 1919.

Application filed February 15, 1916. Serial No. 78,526.

To all whom it may concern Be it known'that I, EDWIN LEE ROBERTS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Nashville, in the county of Davidson and State of Tennessee, have invented a Combined Mouth Gag and Tongue Depressor, which may be easily positioned and readily removed. v

The main object of the invention is to provide a simple and efiicient structure of the class mentioned, which may be adjusted to the mouth of the patient and which will adjust itself, in part, to the face, so that it may be readily and comfortably employed upon persons having diflerent chin formations.

The invention is illustrated in the annexed drawings, wherein the structure is shown in its complete and assembled form in Figure 1;

Fig. 2 i a perspective view of the frame proper, with the depressor and pressure device removed;

Fig. 3, a perspective view of the pressureapplying device; and

Fig. 4 a like view of the depressor proper.

The frame of the structure may be said to comprise an upper member 1, curving outwardlyand carrying an inwardly-projecting bearing lug or element 2 adapted, when the instrument is positioned, to bear against the upper teeth of the patient. Extending downwardly from the ends of the bar 1 are posts or rods 3 and 4, each rod being provided with a series of notches 5 adjacent its mid-length, with which cooperate spring-pressed latches 6. Said latches are pivotally mounted upon the outer ends of a second curved bar, said bar carrying a sleeve 8 at each end thereof, through which the rods 3 and 4: pass. There is thus produced a frame, composed of the bar 1, the rods 3 and 4, and the second curved bar 7, which bars are adjustable toward and from each other and may be held in their adjusted positions by the latches 6 cooperating with the notches 5. The bar 7 is also provided with a bearing plate or lug 9, extending inwardly therefrom, convex in form, and adapted to engage the teeth in the lower jaw of the patient.

Pivotally secured to the under portion of the bar 7 is a swinging frame or chin-rest 10, adapted, when the instrument is positioned, to bear against the chin of the patient. Projecting outwardly from the bar 7 at the mid-length thereof, is a hook-shapedmember 11, adapted to engage and hold a cross-pin 12 secured in a pair of downwardly extending lugs 13 formed upon or secured to the horizontally-disposed element 1 1 of the tongue-depressor carrier. Two pairs of arms or lugs 15, 15 extend upwardly from the sides of the member 14, the inner ends of said lugs being turned inwardly toward each other, as at 16, and forming retaining means for the tongue-depressor.

The member 1 1 is preferably formed as an integral extension of a plate or member 17, said members 14 and 17 standing at substantially right angles to each other, and the member 17, when the parts are positioned, being in front of the forward face of the chin-rest 10. A screw 18 is mounted in the member 17, and the inner end thereof contacts with the forward face of the chinrest 10.

The depressor proper is best shown in Fig. 1, and may be said to comprise'a rectangular bar 19, cut away adjacent one end at each side, as at 20, so that the narrowed portion formed thereby may be passed inwardly between the adjacent ends of the inturned element 16 and the depressor thus positioned with reference to the swinging carrier or support therefor heretofore described and shown in detail in Fig. 3. One

end of the bar 19 carries a relatively wide and curved depressor 21, while the opposite end is provided with a handle 22, preferably roughened on its upper surface to afford a firm hold.

In the use of the instrument the gag, with the pressure element and the tongue-depressor removed, or as shown in Fig. 2, is first positioned in the mouth, with the members 2 and 9 engaging the upper and lower teeth, respectively, and when the patients mouth is opened to the full extent the latches 6 look the bars 1 and 7 in their separated position. The operator then positions the pressure member or element shown in Fig. 3- loy engaging the cross pin 12 in the hook 11. The depressor is then positioned, or if previously positioned in the retaining portions of the pressure element, is moved inwardly into the mouth of the patient and thrown downwardly into proper position with reference to the tongue. By then turning the screw 18 inwardly, the swinging depressor support is tilted and at the same time the chin-rest 10 is thrown inwardly, taking a firm bearing against the chin of the patient and causing the depressor element 21 to likewise bear firmly upon the tongue. By having the chin-rest 1O pivoted it will fit against the face of the patient, whether he have a receding or a protruding chin.

By having the parts separable, the structure may be readily cleaned and sterilized, and the instrument may likewise be readily positioned and adjusted.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In combination, a mouth-gag; atonguedepressor pivotally connected thereto; a chin-rcst likewise pivotally connected to the gag; and means for rocking the depressor and rest and holding the same in their adjusted positions.

2. In combination, a mouth-gag; atonguedepressor; a pivotal support therefor mounted on the gag; a chin-rest pivoted to the gag; and means interposed between the support and rest for securing a relative separation thereof.

3. In combination with a mouth-gag; a

tongue-depressor; a member pivotally supported on the gag and forming a support for the depressor; a chin-rest pivoted to the gag; and a screw mounted in the depressorsupporting member and bearing on the chinrest.

4:. In a combined gag and tongue-depressor the combination of a pair of bars each carrying an element adapted to bear against the teeth of the user; means for securing said bars in their adjusted position; a chinrest pivoted to the lower bar and at the lower side thereof; an "I shaped member likewise pivotally connected to the lower bar; lugs extending upwardly and inwardly from the upper face thereof; a tongue depressor having a reduced section adapted to pass in between said lugs and when moved lengthwise to be held thereby; and a screw mounted in the downwardly-extending arm of said '1 -shaped member and hearing at its inner end upon the chin-rest.

ED'WIN LEE ROBERTS. lVitnesses H. T. CAMPBELL, B. E. BRITT.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. G. 

